In today’s digital world, simply having a business website is no longer enough to stand out. You need a solid content marketing strategy that positions your brand as an authority in your industry. One effective approach is article marketing – using high-quality articles submitted to relevant websites to increase awareness and drive traffic. But doing it right takes research, planning and optimization tailored to your target audience. This guide covers proven tips for business promotion through article submissions.
Introduction to Article Marketing
Content marketing has become essential for companies looking to organically reach and convert potential customers. In fact, over 90% of marketers leverage content as part of their digital strategy. The right topic that engages your audience combined with a publication that has influence in your space gives articles marketing superpowers.
Strategically placing articles establishes your business as a thought leader, directs interested visitors into your sales funnel and boosts branding efforts. For small businesses with limited resources, it’s an affordable way to grow your audience and get the word out about your products or services. But first, let’s breakdown what makes article marketing so powerful.
Driving Qualified Traffic to Your Website
Well-written and informative articles not only entice readers, they allow you to link directly to your company website from author bios. Articles essentially act as mini advertisements, letting you succinctly explain your offering while associating your brand with expertise. This translates into higher conversion rates from an already interested, relevant audience.
Enhancing Brand Visibility & Recognition
Getting published raises the perceived credibility of you and your business. As readers value your input, it further cements your brand reputation. Your articles act like billboards, putting your company on display to new customers. The more high-traffic sites that carry your articles, the greater your exposure.
Establishing Yourself as an Industry Thought Leader
Quality writing showcases your subject matter prowess. Articles let you thoughtfully demonstrate your products value, differentiators and appeal over competitors. As readers come to depend on your insights, you become influences in purchasing decisions. Recognition as an authority figures means more referrals, word-of-mouth marketing and sales.
Now that the immense value of article marketing is clear, where should you submit content to maximize visibility?
Also Read: The Complete Guide to Guest Posting for SaaS Business Growth
Choosing the Right Websites for Article Submissions
With endless options for article syndication, prioritizing sites that align with your customer avatar is crucial. Carefully evaluate publications before pitching to editors to find where your articles can add value and reach your intended audience.
Start by Building Domain Authority
In marketing terminology, domain authority refers to the power and trustworthiness of a website based on external signals like age, size, search engine ranking and social media shares. Submit articles to sites with higher domain authority and relevance first to significantly boost impressions.
Sought-after sites related to your topic area ensures readers actually want this type of content, increasing engagement metrics. Authority websites also have enough existing traffic to give your articles plenty of visibility right from the start.
Look for Guest Posting Opportunities
Many websites accept contributed posts from industry experts which allows you to bypass traditional publishing routes. Start researching relevant sites by looking through blogs and seeing if they share non-staff articles. Creative pitches to editors that clearly outline the value you’ll provide builds relationships for long-term publishing partnerships.
Repurpose Content on Medium
Medium gives you access to an entirely new reader base in their open blogging platform. The minimal overhead in copying an article from your website makes it worth cross-promoting. Embed key information about your business and links back to primary landing pages to leverage existing materials.
Tap into Resources in Your Niche
Trade publications and industry resources likely want authoritative content from insiders like yourself. These ad-supported platforms have financial incentive to host engaging thought leadership and buyer’s guides that provide real utility. Narrow down options using Google by combining keywords like “your industry” and “association”.
Now let’s dive into crafting the type of excellent articles that editors can’t resist sharing with their audiences.
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Creating Valuable, Optimized Content
Compelling articles solve reader problems and satisfy information needs. Once you have potential websites mapped out from conducting competitor research, use these insider tips to develop truly exceptional content.
Hook Audiences with Keyword Optimization
Headline tags and supporting content should directly respond to questions your customers are asking online. Keyword research reveals top search queries to integrate so search engines display your articles for relevant lookups. Tools like Google’s Keyword Planner help uncover monthly volumes pointing to reader demand.
Remember to focus keywords appropriately based on whether you are targeting bottom-of-the-funnel buyers ready to purchase or just entering the awareness phase. For example, “review” indicates lower intent than someone searching for “buy [your product]”.
Craft Content that Answers Reader Questions
Address knowledge gaps that influence purchasing decisions at different points in customer journeys. For example, provide actionable advice for key challenges customers face or weighs pros and cons of products. Articles that offer practical takeaways demonstrate helpfulness which builds lasting brand impressions.
Keep introduction brief but intriguing to pique reader interest before elaborating on your most useful tips, stats or frameworks. Breakdown complex topics into easy to digest sections utilizing formatting techniques like subheadings, bullet points and bolded summaries.
Follow On-Page SEO Best Practices
Properly optimizing articles themselves using metadata so search engines can interpret and classify your content is equally as important as keyword integration.
At the very minimum ensure you have:
- Search-friendly headline tags using your primary keywords
- An SEO-rich meta description that gives readers and Google a summary of the articles key focuses
- Properly structured header tags like H2 and H3 to emphasize importance
- Alt text that describes any images to improve accessibility
Back Claims with Data from Credible Sources
Statistics and quotes demonstrate due diligence while adding legitimacy. Reputable publications expect contributors to cite sources using hyperlinks. When adding data, be sure to clarify the timeframe being referenced and relevant comparisons being made for proper context.
Insert Examples to Connect with Readers
Anecdotes make advice resonate better with audiences while breaking up heavy text. Find creative ways to integrate how your product or service solved real customer challenges. Relatable stories help readers visualize themselves benefitting from your offering for higher conversion rates.
Congratulations, you now have a captivating article ripe for distribution! So how can you leverage articles to self-promote after earning the coveted byline?
Also Read: How to Get Guest Posts Published and Build Backlinks
Promoting Your Personal Brand
Apart from directing website visitors, articles also enable shameless self-promotion to grow your authority. Many entrepreneur contributor bios essentially act as a condensed elevator pitch for their business. Take advantage of this prime real estate to convert readers into loyal brand advocates.
Build Your Expert Reputation
Publication gives you credibility often reserved for thought leaders. Flash your subject matter expertise by highlighting relevant accomplishments, current positions, number of contributed articles and media mentions. Advertise any awards, patents or published research. Prominently featuring this social proof introduces you as a trusted voice readers should listen to.
Link to Offers Mentioned in Articles
Remind visitors what sparked their initial interest by pointing them to related products or more educational materials on your website. Strategic linking allows you to capture sales from newly minted fans. Bonus tip – create special landing pages or lead magnets specifically for article promotion purposes.
Get Creative with Images
Visually associating your articles with your brand makes recognition more likely. Include logos and headshots in any images that accompany your work, using a support credit if allowed. Maintaining a consistent persona with professional profile pictures also develops an air of reliability.
Now that your articles are excellently optimized, connected to your offerings and personally branded, understanding their performance is vital for improving subsequent content.
Also Read: The Complete Guide to Guest Posting for SEO
Measuring and Refining Your Efforts
Analyzing metrics reveals key opportunities to further amplify article promotion going forward. Dig into traffic sources, engagement and conversions to guide your journey to marketing mastery.
Configure Tracking to Monitor Referrals
Most content management systems have built-in analytics with overviews of visitors and behavior flow. If not, use Google Analytics by adding campaign tracking parameters to article links so you can measure acquisitions channel effectiveness. This illuminates your highest traffic-driving domains to allot more resources to.
Evaluate Search Engine Rankings
Months after publication, search your article headlines and topics to determine their positioning across Google and Bing. Your ultimate measure of search engine optimization (SEO) success is consistently ranking on the coveted first page of results.
Pay attention to which pieces gain traction to shape upcoming content development. Try integrating more commonly searched industry phrases that gained visibility to build relevance.
Determine Top Conversion Sources
While visibility is important, true impact comes from leads generated and sales closed from article promotion. Track adoption rates all the way through your sales funnel using UTM codes or tools like Google Tag Manager. Assess which placements or sections directly inspired conversions to further boost these areas.
Cultivate Relationships with Publishers
Take time nurturing connections with webmasters and editors who hosted your top-performing articles. These partners can provide feedback to continuously improve or open the door for new opportunities to contribute again down the line.
Expand Exposure through Social
Finally, don’t neglect additional distribution channels like Twitter or LinkedIn which have embedded audiences hungry for shareable thought leadership. Repackage articles into shorter quotes, key lessons or graphics with a heavy call-to-action back to the full piece.
Also Read: What Can Guest Posts Do For Boosting Your Business?
Conclusion
Article marketing delivers outsized returns for minimal time investment. Strategically maximizing placements on credible industry websites positions your unique value. Compelling content empowers raising awareness among potential customers. Optimized author bios directly link your thought leadership to conversion actions.
With the framework provided, you are equipped to start showcasing your expertise through contributed articles. Focus on delivering real value to publishers and readers first. The increased visibility and website growth will come naturally over time. What topic will you tackle in your first piece?
